Zhang Caiyu's hand froze in mid-air, her smile rigid for a few seconds.
What was this Qin He all about? She was here for a golden opportunity, and the most outstanding contestant, the destined champion, was asking her for a favor, only for Qin He to refuse?
Qin He was looking down on her!
Zhang Caiyu cursed silently in her heart, but her smile didn't falter.
"Fine, since you insist, I have no objections."
As soon as they finished speaking, a drone flew up to them.
The camera beneath the drone was pointed at them, and Zhang Caiyu's expression immediately shifted to one of elegance and friendliness as she looked at Qin He.
"Miss Qin, shall we go to the warehouse? Honestly, it's been so long since I've competed, I'm a bit nervous."
Qin He thought to herself, impressed by Zhang Caiyu's acting skills.
She nodded. "Miss Zhang, let's go."
Even the director's team, watching through the camera, could see their feigned pleasantries.
In the director's makeshift room, the director rubbed his forehead as he looked at Zhang Caiyu and Qin He on the screen, then turned to instruct his assistant.
"Film more of Qin He; the netizens like watching her."
The assistant nodded. "What about Zhang Caiyu?"
"Zhang Caiyu is also a strong contender for the championship this time, so film her plenty as well."
The director then turned his gaze to a black leather armchair in the corner, where a man with an extremely powerful aura was seated. In the dimly lit room, his eyes were fixed on the screen like a hawk's.
He wondered who he was watching—
The director mused: I heard Qin He and Gu Qichen were married before. Is he watching Qin He?
The director thought again: Not necessarily. I also heard that Zhang Caiyu got here through connections. Perhaps she's connected to Gu Qichen.
It was strange that this influential figure had moved from Qingcheng to Jiangcheng but hadn't appeared as a representative of the Gu Corporation.
On the beach, Qin He and Zhang Caiyu soon reached the entrance of the warehouse, which was more like a temporary shed.
Pushing aside the curtain, they entered a room filled with various shelves, each holding items needed for perfume blending.
Zhang Caiyu's eyes lit up when she spotted some expensive synthetic essential oils on a shelf in the center. She immediately strode towards it, afraid Qin He would snatch them before she could!
Qin He, on the other hand, ambled slowly past each shelf. Many of the ingredients were synthetic, and Qin He wasn't very interested.
However, there was a scarcity of traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients. Qin He walked from the first shelf to the last, only to find a small piece of agarwood in a corner.
But these items seemed insufficient.
Qin He slowly browsed again, collecting a few medicinal herbs and some dried flowers, which she placed in her bag.
Every shelf had a camera, so the live broadcast could show what everyone was taking.
By the time Qin He finished selecting her items, Zhang Caiyu had already left. Qin He let out a long sigh and leisurely walked back to the villa with her bag.
Unbeknownst to Qin He, her every move was being broadcast live, and the internet was abuzz.
【I know that synthetic essential oil Zhang Caiyu took! It's used to blend perfumes for the highest quality, producing the best fragrance and long-lasting scent! But what did Qin He take? A piece of wood?】
【I said it before, Qin He is just here for the show. She's an undertaker and a beauty blogger; you really think she knows perfumery?】
【I think Qin He has given up completely. She might not even make it into the top fifty. I saw her pick up some dried flowers earlier; they looked like decorations for the warehouse. She really dares to take anything.】
...
At Qing University, Shen Yilin looked at the barrage of comments, his grip tightening on his phone.
He couldn't help but type on the screen: 【You don't understand anything. Don't comment blindly before the results are out!】
Someone quickly replied to him: 【We don't understand, but you do? Tell us what Qin He plans to do with those dried flowers?】
Shen Yilin's fingers trembled with anger, but he truly didn't know the purpose of the dried flowers. However, he believed his sister must have her reasons for doing whatever she did.
...
In the villa by the pink beach, all the perfumers were in a state of intense focus. This competition was crucial for everyone.
After all, the organizing committee had decided that only those who passed the top fifty qualifiers would be allowed to continue in the competition.
The elimination this time was brutal, with half of the participants being sent home.
Those who had reached this stage were no longer unknown individuals. To be eliminated in the first round would be utterly humiliating!
Everyone was determined not to be the one to leave first in this round.
Each person's room was connected to a small perfume studio. For the sake of the show's effect, in addition to the main broadcast, there were also hundreds of individual rooms broadcasting each person's live stream.
Currently, Qin He's and Zhang Caiyu's rooms were attracting the largest audience.
In Qin He's room, the comments flooded in.
【What is Qin He doing? Has she completely given up?】
【She looks like she's just shaving wood for fun.】
【You upstairs, she's not shaving wood; she's scraping powder. It looks like Qin He intends to make traditional incense sticks.】
Qin He had been busy since early morning. By ten o'clock, she emerged from the perfume studio.
Di Shishi had been waiting in her bedroom for who knows how long. Seeing Qin He emerge, she walked up apologetically. "I've already heard from others that assistants were supposed to collect materials, but I overslept."
"It's alright. I've already collected them, and the incense is made," Qin He said with a smile. "I figured we had enough time, so I let you sleep in a bit longer."
In the live stream: 【She's made it?!】
【She said she had enough time? I only saw her scrape some powder earlier; she didn't seem to do much!】
After speaking with Di Shishi, Qin He handed her a small wooden box.
"Could you help me deliver this incense to the program team? Be careful not to jostle it on the way."
Di Shishi immediately nodded. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it gets there safely."
Qin He stretched. She hadn't had breakfast and wondered what the program team had prepared.
Going downstairs from the third floor, she headed straight for the kitchen and glanced at the refrigerator. Inside, there were only a few packets of instant noodles.
Qin He took out a packet, prepared it, and sat at the table to eat, a growing sense of unease settling in her.
Her brow furrowed slightly.
A competition of this magnitude shouldn't only offer instant noodles. However, neither the organizing committee nor the program team had contacted her about picking up boxed meals or anything similar.
What was going on? Was the organizing committee trying some new gimmick?
As she was thinking, a girl from the second floor came down humming a tune. Seeing Qin He sitting and eating instant noodles, she immediately frowned.
"Why are you eating my food?"